The Forza series is a well known (and loved) track-based racing franchise. However, at this year’s E3, they have brought out their latest game, Horizon, a game which is completely different to what they’ve done before, while also being developed by a brand new studio, Playground Games.
The new Forza is an ‘action-racing’ game, which attempts to blur the lines between fun and realistic physics, in an open world environment. The action is set in a music festival-crazed Colorado state, where exotic car drivers roam the roads around the Horizon Festival’s location. According to the devs, the game will feature upgradeable cars, and music festival-based challenges, in and around the venue itself.
It seems that Forza fans are skeptical of how the game will turn out in the end, saying it’s a cross between Test Drive Unlimited and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit - a watered down version of the renowned Forza physics engine ‘for kids’. However, this may be a false assumption, as the game will feature both on-road and off-road racing, with 65 (yes, 65) different surface types to maximize the degree of realism - a game conceived with this kind of attention to detail regarding the physics may not be as ‘watered down’ as some Forza fans claim.
Among the interesting features which will be present in the game, worth mentioning are the dynamic day/night cycle, working pop-up lights, realistic Forza 4 - derived physics, dubstep-infused in-game radio stations and detailed interiors for all cars. Despite not being as vast in scale as Test Drive Unlimited 2 (an extremely similar game, and currently the one to beat for Horizon), a game which offers over 3,000 km (1860 miles) of open road racing, Horizon has the potential to become something special.
We’re genuinely looking forward to Forza Horizon, when it comes out on Xbox 360 on October 23rd. No other platforms have been announced, but the transition from X360 to PC is a mere formality, despite none of the previous Forza titles being available for the PC, we think this one may be the ice-breaker.
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